ACtion Magazine - November/December 2012 - (Page 12)

Under the Southern Cross This industry is full of gasbags Ken Newton, CEO. VASA efrigerant gas is very useful for something. It can always be counted on as a topic of conversation, particularly among those who have to use it. And if it were not for the fact that the chemists have been constantly changing the gas formula since they stopped carting ice from the glaciers in Roman times to stop the oysters going off, you would all have nothing to talk about. Refrigerant gas has always been a problem, hasn’t it? Because it is so problematic, it is useful as fuel in idle cocktail party R 12 Reader Reply No. 6 ACTION • November/December 2012 conversation, and indeed at every gathering of automotive (and I presume stationary) air conditioning and refrigeration boffins. [That’s Aussie for “experts.” –ed.] Oh, some refrigerants have been, and still are, terribly efficient but still nasty. And that’s why the world is going through yet another refrigerant revolution as it struggles from R-134a to R-1234yf or whatever. To prove my hypothesis, I hark back to the Annual General Meeting of VASA and the talkfest which follows, which we call the Forum. Traditionally, this is when workshop members can say what they think – about the government, about their network, about anybody. I had the dubious pleasure of moderating the last Forum, so I was rather busy keeping the house in some kind of order. I had one of my scribes in the corner taking copious notes so that the VASA directors would remember later what everyone was talking about. It was a spirited debate, which I was forced to end an hour and a half later, otherwise we would have missed out on dinner. Of course, being an Australian gathering, we kept the drinks coming and that tended to inspire the debate. The following week, back in the office, I called for the minutes of the meeting. “Is this all they talked about?” I demanded. “Refrigerant gas?” Yep. That’s all they talked about – refrigerant gas in the context of the dreaded Australian carbon tax, the escalating price of R-134a, the trend by the back-yarders to adopt hydrocarbon refrigerant and the end of the world is nigh. Since then, the heavies of the vehicle and stationary air conditioning and refrigeration sector have put their heads together and supported a VASA inspired move to extend the current licensing scheme to cover every technician using every kind of refrigerant, no matter how disgusting. The rationale is that, because the vast majority of vehicles are still charged with R-134a, it doesn’t matter what sort of refrigerant ultimately ends up in the system, the technician must handle a residue of R-134a. Under Australia’s ozone legislation, it is a federal offence to vent, either accidentally or purposely, R-134a because of its high global warming potential. This move is getting some traction. In the meantime, across the ditch in New Zealand, the government has at last adopted legislation a little similar to Australia’s, containing the edict that it will be illegal to vent R-134a into the atmosphere. Up till now, R-134a has floated up there with the long white cloud, above probably the most pristine and natural island nation on the planet. It took them long enough. But isn’t all this a bit late? The global warming potential of R-1234yf is almost zero, so what happens to all the grand legislation then? According to the VASA team, licensing will be needed just the same, because there is an ulterior motive to their campaign. Licensing implies some kind of management of technician capabilities and a setting of competency standards. Australia and New Zealand are over-stocked with less than competent characters who dabble in air conditioning maintenance and repair trying their best, often with great success, to avoid the system. VASA wants to see the day when a wholesaler must refuse to sell any kind of refrigerant to any person who can’t flash an Australian Refrigeration Council license. There is an obligation to introduce training standards attached to a licensing regime, so under VASA’s plan, even if some fools want to rush off and charge unsuspecting systems with hydrocarbon refrigerant, at least they will be trained sufficiently to do it properly and put a label on their work to protect those who have to lift the bonnet in the future. Life would sure be boring in this industry if refrigerant gas hadn’t been invented. ❆ http://www.nostalgicairparts.com http://www.jeepair.com http://www.macsw.org/MACS/Publications/ACtion_Reader_Reply/MACS/Publications/ACTION/ACtion_Reader_Reply.aspx?hkey=ac24bddb-c045-442a-813c-cbf05f88ac4d

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ACtion Magazine - November/December 2012

ACtion Magazine - November/December 2012
Contents
Outlook
Expansion Valve
Leonard’s Law
Under the Southern Cross
News & Updates
Meeting the Need
See the Best of the Best
The Bumpy Road to R-1234yf
Virtual View
Association News
Obituary
Quick Check
New Products & Services
Last Watch

ACtion Magazine - November/December 2012